A report is pending from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation into the officer-involved fatal shooting last month of a Foreman man in McCurtain County, Okla.
Foreman, which is in Little River County in southwest Arkansas, is about 5 miles east of the Oklahoma state line. The McCurtain County sheriff's office requested that Oklahoma authorities investigate the shooting of Devin Hawkins, 32. When the report is complete, it will be sent to District Attorney Mark Matloff of Idabel, Okla., to determine if the shooting was justified.
"It will take a while to complete the report," Matloff said.
The shooting occurred April 30 when the McCurtain County sheriff's office received a call about an armed man walking along a road near Tom, Okla., threatening to kill people, according to Jessie Brown, a spokesman for the Oklahoma bureau. Tom, Okla. is about 11 miles from the Arkansas town of Foreman.
When deputies arrived, Hawkins reportedly had run into the woods. While patrolling, a deputy saw a pickup leaving a home on Jasper Hollow Road near the area where the gunman was seen, Brown said.
The deputy stopped the vehicle. The driver lived at the residence and told the deputy he was giving the passenger, whom he did not know, a ride. The deputy asked the passenger if he had a weapon. The man showed the deputy a gun in his waistband. The subject then grabbed the handgun and put it to his own head. At this time, another deputy and McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy arrived, Brown said.
The deputies tried to get Hawkins to put down the gun and get out of the truck. He refused and pointed the gun at the sheriff, firing at least one time. The deputies then shot Hawkins, killing him. No one else was injured.
State Desk on 05/31/2017